Two more villages in Austria get German-Slovenian town signs
Feistriz im Rosental, 28 October - The number of towns and villages in the Austrian province that have German-Slovenian town names has increased to 171 after Mače (Matschach) and Sveče (Suetschach) have been added to the list, according to a report on the Slovenian programme of ORF, the Austrian public broadcaster.
Bleiburg, Austria
A bilingual sign in Austria's Carinthia.
Photo: Maja Lazar Jančič/STA
File photo
Bilingual town signs in the two villages in the Bistrica ob Rožu (Feistriz im Rosental) municipality were erected on Wednesday in line with a decision taken by the municipal council in June.
The move has been welcomed by the National Council of Carinthian Slovenians (NSKS), one of the umbrella organisations of the Slovenian minority in the province.
"Now I know for sure: Sveče is my home and I'm welcome here!" said NSKS Valentin Inzko, who comes from the village.
Under a 2011 memorandum bilingual town signs have been put up in all the villages in southern part of Austrian Carinthia in which the Slovenian-speaking population accounts for at least 17.5% of the entire population.
Municipalities can also decide to put up bilingual signs in places that are not mentioned in the document. This has been the case in the municipality of Žitara Vas (Sittersdorf), which has erected bilingual town signs in Sele (Sielach).
There are now bilingual town names in 171 places in the Austrian province, in 164 based on the 2011 memorandum.